Storage Solutions for our OUT-OF-CONTROL iTunes Libraries

macrumors 65816

The faster we add movies, songs, TV Shows, etc. to our iTunes library for our AppleTVs... the faster we run out of HD space. When AppleTV was released, I'm guessing 500GB seemed like a TON of space to most of you, and now... not so much.

When you started running out of space on your Mac, what long-term external storage solution did you switch to (or plan to switch to)?

List the hardware you've purchased.

Post photos and/or pricing information if you can.

What advice can you give to others?

What would you do differently?

If you could design the ultimate storage setup for your ever-expanding iTunes library... what would it be?

UPDATE: For those of you intending to move your iTunes library to an external drive like many have done here... I recommend you start with this very helpful resource by iLounge. For Apple's less in-depth, less thorough, less explanatory version, click Here.

Here are a few other resources you may find helpful:RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. Many users are utilizing RAID to add redundancy (backed up) to their data with "mirroring" RAID 1 or speed to their system with "striping" RAID 0.

Drobo is mass-storage device many users here are using to store their iTunes content and have enough room to grow in the future. Drobo is a type of RAID enclosure that utilizes something called UNRAID. UNRAID has many of the benefits of RAID 0 and RAID 1, and more closely resembles RAID 5. Drobo is a (relatively) inexpensive RAID box which lets you add up to 4 SATA hard drives at once. Each drive is backed up 100% so if you lose one drive, you can replace it and keep right on trucking with no data loss. The primary negative of the drobo is that it uses a proprietary system which would require you to buy a brand new drobo in the event that something went wrong with the first one. The hard drives it uses can not be read by any other device. The drobo website has many helpful videos to give you more information.

Every mac comes with a program called Disk Utility. You'll need it to do many of the things you'll read about in this thread. It is especially useful for formatting hard drives and creating RAID systems with multiple external hard drives. With it, you can obtain similar functionality to a drobo, without the expense of purchasing all new hardware.

UPDATE #2: Since a few others posted theirs later on in this thread, I thought I would make a sketch of my own potential setup, which should serve as an example of what's possible.

thread startermacrumors 65816

I am talking more about users who are upgrading to redundant RAID drives, planning for future expansion through multi-bay devices, backing up multiple externals using Time Machine, etc. There are many ways to go about it, and I am just curious about different people's strategies... and the pros/cons of each.

macrumors 603

I am talking more about users who are upgrading to redundant RAID drives, planning for future expansion through multi-bay devices, backing up multiple externals using Time Machine, etc. There are many ways to go about it, and I am just curious about different people's strategies... and the pros/cons of each.

Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Click to expand...

I run my iTunes library on a redundant RAID hung off of my AEBS. I also have two other copies of my library, one here and one kept safely offsite. I am going to have a friend of mine keep a backup with Chronosync as well. I wonder what the RIAA would have to say about that.

FWIW, this may seem a bit over the top, but I have thrown out my CDs. All 1500 of them. These Apple Lossless files are just fine.

FWIW, except for the AEBS, I have had this setup for about 2 years. The music is so much more accessible from iTunes then it ever was as discs. Except in the car (and my computers), I don't even have a CD player or DVD player anymore. I just pipe all the pictures and sounds through my two AppleTVs and an AE with Airtunes to more suitable amplification and speakers.

macrumors member

I have 3 WD 1TB drives for my iTunes movie collection. Got them from Costco. Right now they are only $199.00 bucks. Maybe i'll pick up another one . My brother is my back up and I am his. Nice to know if all is lost I can just get it from him.

macrumors 6502

The faster we add movies, songs, TV Shows, etc. to our iTunes library for our AppleTVs... the faster we run out of HD space. When AppleTV was released, I'm guessing 500GB seemed like a TON of space to most of you, and now... not so much.

When you started running out of space on your Mac, what long-term external storage solution did you switch to (or plan to switch to)?

List the hardware you've purchased.

Post photos and/or pricing information if you can.

What advice can you give to others?

What would you do differently?

If you could design the ultimate storage setup for your ever-expanding iTunes library... what would it be?

Click to expand...

Good question. I'm reaching the end of my 500gb as well. I'm considering the USB hack for the AppleTV to enable an external HD. OR, replacing the internal drive with a 1TB. I know thats not a solution for you since you have multiple AppleTvs. I'd rather go that route since I don't watch movies on my MBP anymore.

macrumors 65816

I've got Tiger server running from a broken 17" Al powerbook with a dead screen. Attached to that is a Raid 1 made up of two 500 gig drives attached via firewire in two separate external enclosures. This raid is backed up nightly to a separate drive using retrospect.

I mount the network volume on my desktop and play itunes from there.

The only problem with this setup is that only one mac in the house can access the itunes library at a time.

thread startermacrumors 65816

I run my iTunes library on a redundant RAID hung off of my AEBS. I also have two other copies of my library, one here and one kept safely offsite. I am going to have a friend of mine keep a backup with Chronosync as well. I wonder what the RIAA would have to say about that.

FWIW, this may seem a bit over the top, but I have thrown out my CDs. All 1500 of them. These Apple Lossless files are just fine.

FWIW, except for the AEBS, I have had this setup for about 2 years. The music is so much more accessible from iTunes then it ever was as discs. Except in the car (and my computers), I don't even have a CD player or DVD player anymore. I just pipe all the pictures and sounds through my two AppleTVs and an AE with Airtunes to more suitable amplification and speakers.

Click to expand...

Do you experience any lag with your setup? Do you notice any sort of hesitation after commands given the wireless setup? The biggest benefit of this type of setup (besides hiding the HD away from the computer) is that you could equally access the iTunes library from multiple computers at the same time... correct?

I've got Tiger server running from a broken 17" Al powerbook with a dead screen. Attached to that is a Raid 1 made up of two 500 gig drives attached via firewire in two separate external enclosures. This raid is backed up nightly to a separate drive using retrospect.

I mount the network volume on my desktop and play itunes from there.

The only problem with this setup is that only one mac in the house can access the itunes library at a time.

Click to expand...

Are the two drives connected through software RAID via Disk Utility? How has the reliability of this setup been? Would you do anything different if you were doing it again?

macrumors P6

very interesting thread here. i don't have an applytv, but still like reading this.

i do have a pretty large itunes library. right now, mine is on my mac pro. i have a 750 drive in it dedicated to my itunes library. i was backing it up to externals, but i didn't like having 5 different externals in a software raid to backup to. (was too cheap to buy a new external)

i'm thinking about clearing out enough room on my 1TB drive in my mac pro to backup to it. we'll see if i can make it happen

thread startermacrumors 65816

very interesting thread here. i don't have an applytv, but still like reading this.

i do have a pretty large itunes library. right now, mine is on my mac pro. i have a 750 drive in it dedicated to my itunes library. i was backing it up to externals, but i didn't like having 5 different externals in a software raid to backup to. (was too cheap to buy a new external)

i'm thinking about clearing out enough room on my 1TB drive in my mac pro to backup to it. we'll see if i can make it happen

Click to expand...

This would be the biggest advantage by far of the Mac Pro in my opinion. All of your hard drives in one enclosure. But, do you think it makes the setup more prone to failure? I mean, if everything is in one enclosure, is the likelihood of loss due to power surge or related problems higher?

macrumors 68020

I have a Netgear ReadyNAS NV+. I manage the library through my iMac, but the ReadyNAS has an iTunes server and can serve everything in the house except for my Apple TV (rediculous BTW).

I sometimes use my PS3 to watch movies or listen to music. I have my router / AEBS / ReadyNAS in my attic, so the fan noise isn't a deal breaker. The NAS drives aren't silent enough to have in a living room. They do offer x-raid, the ability to use mixed sized drives and a host of other features.

It was a little expensive, but now I don't worry about space (at least for a while). When the 1TB drives come down in price, I'll fill it with those.

macrumors 6502

I can't specifically comment on an AppleTV as I haven't bought one yet, but I have a Synology DS207+ hooked up with 2 WD Greenline 1TB drives (they automatically spin down from 7200 to 5400rpm when not used) - a total of 2TB Software RAID.

This is hosting my iTunes liabrary via AFP. I even use it as a torrent download. It has a web GUI with a lot of functionalities.

Oh and it has Gigabit Ethernet, uses low power consumption, and with those greenline WD drives is quiet silent

thread startermacrumors 65816

I have a Netgear ReadyNAS NV+. I manage the library through my iMac, but the ReadyNAS has an iTunes server and can serve everything in the house except for my Apple TV (rediculous BTW).

I sometimes use my PS3 to watch movies or listen to music. I have my router / AEBS / ReadyNAS in my attic, so the fan noise isn't a deal breaker. The NAS drives aren't silent enough to have in a living room. They do offer x-raid, the ability to use mixed sized drives and a host of other features.

It was a little expensive, but now I don't worry about space (at least for a while). When the 1TB drives come down in price, I'll fill it with those.

Click to expand...

Hahaha, the thought of a thousand dollar NAS sitting all alone in an attic is strangly humorous to me!

macrumors 65816

Until Apple can support Disk Utility via TC USB port, I will be sticking with no back-up of my movies. I have Apple's back-up software working to back-up everything, but movies. I have stripped my movie library down to less then the 1Tb Time Capsule, but am running out of space the more movies I buy.

I will hopefully be doing the following setup when I get the new house.

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